Castries, St. Lucia – 18 year old left arm medium pacer Selena Ross is among the 15 women West Indies U19 Womens’ T20 World Cup squad. The announcement by Cricket West Indies on (December 23, 2024), marks Ross’ debut on the West Indies Team which is to participate in the global spectacle from January 18 to February 2, 2025 in Malaysia. The inclusion of the young Saint Lucian cricket sensation who hails from the Gros Islet Grass Roots program on the U19 WI squad together with her predecessors Zaida James as well as McKenny Clarke, Akeem Auguste and Kimani Melius has all occurred within the last 6 years.
Part of the inaugural cohort of players to join the Saint Lucia Cricket High Performance Center, Selena impressed in the 2024 West Indies Rising Stars Womens’ U19 Championship, where she picked up 8 wickets with her best figures being 3 for 8 against Barbados.
The tournament will feature 16 teams from across the globe, with matches scheduled across various venues in Malaysia. Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and West Indies qualified through their participation in the 2023 edition, while Malaysia earned automatic qualification as hosts.
Another five nations, Nepal, Nigeria, Samoa, Scotland and the United States earned their spots through the various regional qualification tournaments. It will be the first World Cup appearance across any age group for Samoa while the tournament also marks Malaysia’s maiden appearance at the Under 19 Women’s World Cup.
The 16 teams have been split into four groups of four and West Indies have been drawn in Group A alongside India, Sri Lanka and the hosts, Malaysia.
Following the group phase of the tournament which runs from 19 to 23 January, the top three teams from each group will advance to the Super 6 phase – two groups of six – will take place from 25 to 29 January.
Three teams from Group A and Group D will combine to form one Super 6 group and the top three teams of Group B and Group C will form the other group.
The top two teams from each Super 6 group will advance to the semifinals on 31 January with the final to be held on 2 February at the Bayuemas Oval.
The team travelled to Malaysia on 1 January for a pre-tournament camp from 5 to 10 January. Their tournament preparation continues with two warm up games – on 13 January against Nepal and 15 January against New Zealand, before their opening group stage game on 19 January.
